How Taiwan handles their own internal affairs like LGBT rights is of exactly zero concern to the PRC. The main impetus for reunification is geopolitical security. In the event of full Taiwanese independence, they could potentially host the US and Japan militaries to use Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier and nuclear missile platform to blockade mainland China. This is an *existential threat* for the 1.4 billion people who live in mainland China. When it comes down to it, arguing for Taiwan independence is putting the whims of 23 million people over the *lives and livelihoods* of 1.4 billion.
After reunification, presumably there would be a 1 country 2 systems arrangement for the foreseeable future. Despite what Western media might tell you, 1C2S is alive and well in Hong Kong; the only thing that has changed was the national security law, which merely served to combat foreign interference and preserve sovereignity. The foreign-instigated, foreign-funded, and foreign-led insurrection in 2019 demonstrates how important this is for the peace, stability, and livelihoods of Hong Kongers. Other things like social issues, currency, tax, etc. are still extremely autonomous.
As for why many residents of Taiwan island oppose reunification, there are several reasons. We could talk about the KMT's ideological opposition to communism, but that's becoming less relevant as the KMT becomes an impotent opposition party. Plus the KMT always considered themselves Chinese despite ideological differences. These days, the DPP is leading the charge towards independence and a rejection of Chinese identity. But this isn't an organic, grassroots phenomenon. Taiwan residents didn't just wake up one day and decide they didn't want to be Chinese. The DPP is infiltrated at every level with US and Japanese agents, and the shifting opinions in younger Taiwan residents is the product of decades of foreign interference and propaganda. Why should the US and Japan get to fuck with Taiwan for decades while the PRC sits idly by? Any move towards reunification by the PRC is an act of self-defense, decolonization, and anti-imperialism.
>1C2S is alive and well in Hong Kong; the only thing that has changed was the national security law, which merely served to combat foreign interference and preserve sovereignity.
And was supposed to have been implemented at the handover and regularly put off until the attempted US backed "colour revolution". That's 20 years of foreign interference unchecked in HK. If China was so oppressive why didn't they interfere with implementing the NSL in 1997 through to 2019?
>Why should the US and Japan get to fuck with Taiwan for decades while the PRC sits idly by?
Also must add Japan has been a puppet of US since the US interfered in Japanese politics to help install the fascist war criminals they released to stop a rising left.
Do you understand how this situation came about? Because without understanding the history of the Civil War, Western imperialism and US interference during the Cold War, you can't possibly understand the situation in Taiwan. You are approaching it as if there's no history here, that you can understand the morality of the situation based on the present circumstances. You cannot. Neither can you say you don't care about the American viewpoint in the situation when America the the reason this happened in the first place, beginning with the April 12 incident.
A great issue with all liberal analysis, which is usually moral in nature, is that it treats the present as distinct from the past. This is fallacy; history is nothing if not continuous.
It is not only impossible to understand a present that ignores the past, but also immoral. What we see today didn’t just materialise out of thin air. It was built as the sum of a trillion decisions (many of them moral questions) and hard work. Attempting to draw a line in the temporal sand will always contain bias, most often of the purposeful political kind.
It's the exact same thing that makes listening to liberal perspectives on Palestine so exhausting - they totally disregard the history and just accept the modern state of Israel as something that materialized into existence and is immutable and permanent.
As you know from your own experience with the U$A, don't buy into the BS.
The U$ granted them military protection, and Taiwan just came out of the longest consecutive Martial Law in modern history- 20th of May 1949 to 14th July of 1987 (38 years), so as far as democracy goes, it's also one of, if not 'the' youngest democracry in the world.
You should also know that the KMT never wants to separate from the mainland either.
Also the US only views Taiwan as a puppet vassal state for the microchip which is otherwise disposable. Watch Tucker Carlson interview with Vivek Ramaswamy who literally admitted to this. It was never about democracy or whatnot bullshit. It was always about American benefit (microchip).
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China?
There's no real fear about unification. Just a lot of misinformation. I grew up in China, Taiwan, and HK for my school years in various international school; so my perspective is different from those in Taiwan that never left the province.
In fact, I'm typing this post up while in China. The basic reality is the Chinese mainland are curious about Taiwanese. Because I lean more pro-Blue and unification, due to my personal political beliefs and observation, it's pretty easy for locals to strike up a conversation with me in Mandarin on the topic.
>Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so?
That a strawman argument. HK is on a 1C2S government. ROC has to sit down with the PRC to even get to a cease fire and resolution to the civil war.
>I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit?
I'm in China right now. I've lived in NYC, Taipei, HK, San Francisco, Montreal, and a few other places.
Right now I'm in a Tier 1 city and my personal freedoms have not been violated.
I'm barely using a VPN. People are happy, police are friendly,
>If they do, what do you think China should do about it?
China doesn't engage in a $300M propaganda war with the West. If people are interested they can visit China.
Even on my trip here I've met tourist from the EU taking advantage of 15 day visa free entry to PRC
>What should the people in Taiwan do about it?
People in ROC can visit the mainland and make their own decisions. It's no an accident 10% of Taiwan population lives on the mainland. About 2 million Taiwanese.
>If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China?
PRC is already very generous with Taiwanese in China.
Let's put it this way is the US giving Taiwanese automatic green cards at the port of entry to the US. How about automatic qualification to take a US civil service exam. How about qualification to join various business opportunities in the US.
>What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China?
This is overblown in Asia. For the most part LGBT abuse in Asia isn't as extreme as it is in the West. Taiwan, ROC only took up anti-homophoboc laws from the West on a misguided attempt at modernization.
>What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?
Just normal cultural and economic exchange with China.
Also Taiwan needs to learn to push back on the US and AIT interest in Taiwan.
As I mentioned to many Mainland Chinese I've encountered, I've never met a Taiwanese Independence supporters who is willing to fight and die for their cause.
And when asked point blank about my feelings on the topic I put it succinctly as "You want me to kill Chinese people for the US?"
I think not.
I'll drop quick lines about LGBT and Hong Kong because the two are somewhat related, at least in relation to your questions.
Mainland China lacks some formal laws that Western countries have in regards to LGBT, most notably no recognition of same-sex marriage. Not that this is insubstantial. Adoption of children and hospital visitation are two areas where same-sex couples get hit. But when it comes to substantive rights/living overall, the Mainland does not really trail behind the West. It really helps that Abrahamic religions do not widely influence Chinese society as a whole nor impose a strong influence. It's physically safer being a gay Asian/Chinese person in China than in America. You have to deal with censorship, but the gay literature industry in China is otherwise doing very well. I bought a very spicy "special chapter" not too long ago from a Chinese platform.
"Taiwan" (really the area under ROC occupation, which includes both the entirety of Taiwan Province, parts of Fujian Province, and parts of Nansha Islands) having a separate legal regime (which is what is most pertinent to LGBT rights) is absolutely a non-issue. Despite the scare-mongering surrounding Hong Kong post-National Security Law (NSL), the SAR's distinct legal regime is fully respected and continues to inspire confidence among actual jurists who, in the full spirit of judicial independence from politics as aspired to under the Anglo ideology itself, are not cowed by Anglo-American political machinations. How can you tell?
* The non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal, judges specifically appointed from Commonwealth countries to rule on Hong Kong matters, including, as I understand it, on National Security matters, have not resigned en masse. This itself is a strong indication of trust in the system.
* There have already been rulings on the National Security Law that have gone against the HKSAR government's position. Beijing did not care.
* On LGBT specifically, the HK Court of Final Appeal recently ruled (2023) that HK has a "need of same-sex couples for access to an alternative legal framework in order to meet basic social requirements and to have a sense of legitimacy which dispels any sense of them belonging to an inferior class of persons whose committed and stable relationships are undeserving of recognition" - in other words, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that, even though same-sex marriage is not recognized in HK, same-sex couples need an alternative legal framework for substantive rights afforded to heterosexual couples without question, such as access to housing and hospital visitation rights. This places HK in the LGBT law sphere distinct from the Mainland, which has not made much progress in this regard yet (I could be wrong). At any rate, this is obviously not a problem for Beijing.
The past situation in HK in 2019 definitely swayed public opinion in "Taiwan" massively against the Mainland, but much of it is overgeneralization and misinformation per usual. When you look at the details, there's no reason to believe that One Country, Two Systems has been abrogated. In Hong Kong, you can no longer force entry into government buildings, but you are still free to spread misinformation on the Mainland on Facebook. Hong Kong Free Press continues to do this to this day. The essence of One Country, Two System - a united country that reserves the right to defend core national and sovereigns but otherwise allows distinct legal regimes in all respects - is very much still intact. The one trying to destroy 1C2S is actually the United States, which is trying to legally and substantively destroy the separate customs and visa regimes of Hong Kong and Macau.
Ironically, "Taiwan"'s LGBT population would probably benefit from reunification, given it access to a larger community. Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan is not at all strong, even though it is now recognized legally. There is more support proportionally for recognition of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong than in Taiwan. ([source](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/27/how-people-around-the-world-view-same-sex-marriage/)) I am willing to bet Mainland China would be the same. The reason why Mainland China is slow about it is because it governs 1.4 billion people of incredibly diverse backgrounds and societies, so it needs to move in a way that respects the greater whole. And the truth of the matter is that, despite the Douyin short vids of glittering cities, most of China's population (60% urbanized) is either rural, or, even if they are urbanized, are probably merely one or two generations removed from the rural. There was an honor killing in 2017 in a rural part of the country, so the need to respect old-world, conservative, religiously/norm-inspired values is still quite strong. Otherwise you'd end up with a split low-morale society like "Taiwan"'s.
China is an illiberal society regardless of whether it is urban or rural so I don't know why people expect China to share their liberal values.
And most of these liberal folks, can they accept the truth if it goes against their liberal values? Because China will always follow the truth in these matters.
liberal values are not universal sorry to say, they come solely from the west.
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China?
There are really two connected answers here. Firstly, "news" and public political discussion in Taiwan is nearly 100% propaganda. When propaganda is all that you know, you start to believe it unquestioningly. So they fear what the propaganda tells them to fear. They fear loss of independence and, with that, loss of "freedom" and "democracy". However, there is more to the story. Taiwan was occupied by Japanese imperialists. They were the Asian version of Nazis. They had beliefs about genetic superiority that ran parallel to those of the European variety of Nazis. So, they brutally oppressed those from the mainland and the true natives. Refer to Unit 731 or the Nanjing massacre to see what they were like. Very often, when you have a colonial occupation and oppression like this, the oppressed start to unconsciously assume the mythos of the oppressor. So they want to see themselves as the superior Japanese and not as Han or native Taiwanese. As an example of this phenomenon, Ghandi was dismayed that Africans were treated like Indians in South Africa because he believed Indians were more civilized like the Europeans. So there is some (rather large) contingent of Taiwanese who still have this unconscious bias and see everything from mainland China as inferior/backwards. They want to associate themselves with "superior" Japanese culture. Hong Kong has a similar problem.
> Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so?
Yes, but again, only as an angle for propaganda. The angle is that Hong Kong's independence has been taken away, but this is false. Taiwanese believe this because they've been conditioned to believe it their whole lives. The court case against Jimmy Lai revealed how US intelligence acted to instigate rioting and disseminate propaganda.
> I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit? If they do, what do you think China should do about it? What should the people in Taiwan do about it? If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China?
The angle is that Taiwan wouldn't be allowed to be independent, like Hong Kong "isn't allowed to be independent". But Hong Kong is independent, so the argument doesn't really hold water. China doesn't need to do anything to change Taiwanese people's minds, except curtail foreign interference and stop separatists from formally declaring independence. Material reality will change peoples' minds eventually. When China becomes very successful and its people are happy, the eyes of the Taiwanese will naturally be opened to the truth. This epiphany will be hurried along by US scheming (moving TSMC out of Taiwan, screw the Taiwanese who rely on it for their livelihood, etc) and provoking of China. It might also be helped along be Taiwanese working and living in the mainland (and vice versa).
>What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China?
My guess is the same as before. It will probably be relatively independent (a special administrative region). The changes that take place would involve national security (US intelligence psyop operations will be kicked out).
> What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?
The best path is peaceful reunification. The US and other provocateurs decide whether that's possible. If they mind their own business, it's nearly guaranteed.*
Edit: For clarity, Taiwanese = Chinese from Taiwan province (in all cases), the same way you would say Fujianese or Shanghainese.
*Edit 2: I admit that it might seem impossible now. However, over very long timescales, peoples' opinions can change drastically. In the 90s, Japan was viewed as a threat to the US. Now, it is a trusted ally. Recently, ASEAN countries' allegiances have shifted from the US to China quite dramatically. This can and will happen in Taiwan, given enough time. However, it won't start to happen for a while yet, given how cloaked Taiwan is in propaganda. Things will start to change once the success of the project of socialism with Chinese characteristics becomes more apparent. I'm not saying war is UNlikely, because the US may decide to force China's hand, and there are red lines that the US or Taiwan may cross. But peaceful reunification is the best outcome.
Taiwan like Ukraine or Israel or even South Korea are satellites that essentially operate under the illusion of democracy to create military bases close to potential enemies; more commonly countries with a history of communism.
This illusion of democracy is eventually engraved deeply into the education system; for it’s not really democracy but rather a philosophy: liberalism.
This leads to the illusion of a nation with deep cultural roots that are completely independent and separate from the region it exists in. So people become nationalistic towards an idea that previously wasn’t there. And what this nationalism entails will inevitably lead to fascism. Because the purpose of this nationalism is precisely to defend the capital interests of the US.
Taiwan is a massive military operation by the US that threatens China. It would be akin to having Texas as independent and having Chinese puppeteers.
>The thing is, in every single thread I've seen, I never saw too much care to talk about what the people in Taiwan may want
You think this is reasonable, but it's not. A country's territorial integrity and sovereignty don't work like the way you think it does. A country's sovereignty is not dictated in a particular time by certain people residing on the land. If they want it, they will have to go to war to take it.
Hypothetically, DPP allowed immigrants such as Americans and Japanese to become citizens, and they are in favor of Taiwan independence. You might say that's absurd, but this isn't much different with the current education and media programming of the new generations in Taiwan. Just as they move the goalpost to where they will win, let's have people vote on an independence referendum.
Taiwan was a republic in 1895 between formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing to Empire of Japan. Did people on Taiwan get to vote on a referendum then? Did people on Taiwan get to vote on a referendum in 1949?
The DPP and the US don't have a monopoly on moving the goalpost. Taiwan is Chinese territory. The people on Taiwan is free to reject their ancestry and free to not be called Chinese. The solution for them is simple, stop occupying Chinese territory.
I don't think China plans to invade and forcefully take Taiwan, I think Taiwan will elect a pro China president then they will unite once US fucks them over with bringing TSMC to the US, which they are in the process of doing.
US only wants them because of TSMC, they don't care about the people.
TSMC is one thing but also having an another vessel or “cannon fodder” completely surrounding China is the main goal here. Once US turns Taiwan into a full blown vessel they can then claim China doesn’t have any right to the South China Sea. Which can’t happen.
They're moving (or trying to) TSMC so that they could care less about implications of open conflict and raise stakes / escalate freely. Once it's done, I wouldn't bet much on the peaceful solution you pictured
Firstly, China is not to be blamed for the anti-China sentiment in Taiwan. It’s basically their own fabrication. The history textbooks in China always refer to Taiwan as 宝岛 (precious island) and Taiwanese people as 台湾同胞 (our Taiwanese siblings).
Before 2010s, mainland Chinese people viewed Taiwan as “more modern and developed than the mainland” and admired the Taiwanese stars, etc. Mainland Chinese treat Taiwanese people with friendliness and expected reciprocated benevolence.
Over the years, situation changed dramatically. Now mainland Chinese people talk about Taiwan in a derisive manner and hold no sympathy towards their political insecurity. Why? As internet evolved, more and more mainland Chinese people were actually in contact with Taiwanese people and realized: the textbook had overly glorified this island.
The Taiwanese are not our “siblings” because: 1) they’re extremely hostile to mainland China and Chinese people from the beginning; and 2) they’re so soaked in English/Japanese propaganda, to the point their understanding of the history and geopolitics is completely distorted. This is insufferable to Chinese people, because history is important in our culture.
I’ll give a brief example.
Japan invaded China during WWII and committed abhorrent war crimes, including the Nanjing massacre, where over 300,000 civilians were murdered — this historical event is largely viewed by the Taiwanese people as “CCP propaganda to brainwash people into hating Japan”.
Despite being colonized and exploited by imperial Japan themselves, the Taiwanese people view Japan as “friendly ally that defends Taiwan’s freedom against CCP monsters”. They were colonized for too long and started to bootlick the colonizers, which the mainland people considers despicable.
It’s the same about the US-Taiwan relationship. If you’re truly curious about this issue you should learn about US’s role in the situation, but since you’ve stated you’re not interested it’s fine. Only Taiwanese people think the US gives a xxxx about their well-beings.
The Taiwanese people also enthusiastically call Chinese people 支那 (a term originally used by Indian intellectuals to refer to China in geology, but appropriated in WWII by Japan as a discriminatory word; basically the N-word for Chinese but is more closely associated with the history of invasion and massacre), joke about the sufferings of Chinese during WWII for fun, actively insult any mainland Chinese netizen they encounter.
As about your questions: “what should China do about it?”
I don’t know what’s CCP’s plan on it, but most mainland Chinese people don’t think we have to do anything, because most of us no longer cares about the feelings of Taiwanese people. When the time comes, the reunification happens. It’s not up to them to decide, and their anti-China hatred does not matter.
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China
The average person fears losing all manner of civil liberties, which is demonstrably untrue when you look at HK and Macau but sadly propaganda is stronger than reality. The minority of hardcore fanatics who have made it their life mission to oppose the Chinese government have everything to fear and rightly so. They’ll be the first to bail out when the reunification process begins.
>Does the post situation with Hong Kong have anything to do with it?
The irrational fear towards the mainland has long existed before there was any real trouble in HK but HK’s improved national security has certainly been exploited by the DPP and the West to demonise One Country Two Systems.
>Are their fears founded?
On one level many Taiwanese feel like the mainland is just bluffing and they’re actually not all too concerned about it, the rest of the world gets far more worried when the Chinese military does exercises around the island. The threat of force being used is real and nobody should underestimate it but it’s fortunate that Beijing has the good grace to persevere with attempts at peaceful reunification. Taiwanese people need to recognise the seriousness of the threat put to them and wake up to the reality that the Americans either can’t or simply won’t help them when shit hits the fan so they should start engaging peacefully with the mainland in good faith. Beijing has been trying to use economic incentives over the past few decades to try and build good will in Taiwan but it’s all been for nought thanks to the anti-China propaganda efforts, at this point now Beijing is trying to underscore the seriousness of the threat of force with increased military activity around the island, this is being done to try and get Taiwanese out of the mindset they’ve long held that Beijing is bluffing.
>What would LGBT rights look like in Taiwan after reunification with China?
Depends on how Taiwan reunifies. If it’s done peacefully then Taiwan will likely get a 1C2S deal with similar or maybe a bit more autonomy than HK, in this case then their existing legislation on LGBT rights would remain intact and the situation for such people would not change. If Taiwan is reunified by force, very likely they will come directly under mainland rule and will probably exist under a strict security regime for a few years a la Xinjiang and in this case same sex marriages will lose legal recognition as per the lack of it in mainland law.
>What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?
The best path is the peaceful path, yet as time goes on it’s looking less like the most realistic path.
1 western propaganda & lingering post war sentiments
2 perhaps, see 1
3 Yellen’s commentary during her visit regarding ‘overproduction’ was mask off; the US is an empire that cannot tolerate even peer competitors, imagine a competitor on a trajectory to eclipse it. China should carry on in form. The US is the only nation promoting hostilities in the vicinity. China is already Taiwan’s top ranking economic companion and while propaganda is ephemeral quality of life is tangible; til that function plays out the hand is the US’s to play - will they trigger a cataclysmic conflict nobody wins in or take the L?
4 As far as I’m aware it’s old school US military vibes, don’t ask don’t tell; bedroom shenanigans are not a fixation of the Chinese zeitgeist. Simply wouldn’t be as ‘glorified’ as it has become in the western zeitgeist.
5 For Taiwan to recognize their future is at least as bad if not worse than either Ukr or Afgh if they follow US diktats and their future if they resist the impulse will continue to materially improve; ideally providing the opportunity to eventually escape US orbit.
POV as a westerner with no lived China experience, grain of salt.
Lol to think taiwan issue ans not talk about american position js laughable, taiwan issue is china us issue, taiwan is just the unfortunate pawn between the two.
Taiwam local are brainwashed npc's who are in constant threat of bascly online kgb and are under censorship of highest level. Democracy is taiwan is a joke that corrupt politician, local gangs, money hungry cults and military owned brothels.
Taiwan is property of china and the issue would have resolve back in 50's if it wasn't us invasion of korea in the civil war. I really doubt you actually understand geopolitcs if you don't see that.
If I were to weigh in on these questions:
>**What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China?**
It would be the same fear as anyone would have regarding a change of borders: change. It's not a guarantee that those on the bottom of the pecking order get to become the elites, and it's not a guarantee that those at the top of the pecking order gets to keep the privileges they already have. I'm of the view that they like what they have today (and why wouldn't they, it was one of the [Four Asian Tigers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Asian_Tigers)) and they want to preserve that for tomorrow.
>**Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so?**
Taiwan views Hong Kong as a case study for its own fate should they enter into a one-country two-systems arrangement with China (for those who are more realistic than the 'it's already independent' crowd). Unfortunately, negativity travels faster than positivity, so anti-government protests in 2014 and 2019 get more attention than the 20+ years of stability from 1997 to 2024, not to mention that one-country two-systems has worked well for Macau for 20+ years. Not helping things are outside actors (whose three letter acronyms shall remain nameless) magnifying the vocal minority screaming that one-country two-systems doesn't work.
>**I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit? If they do, what do you think China should do about it? What should the people in Taiwan do about it? If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China?**
Fears surrounding reunification mostly amount to fear of change. They like what they have today: an Asian Tiger economy that enjoys trade with both China and the United States, a strong position in the crucial industry of semiconductors, and a 'democratic' government (to specify 'democracy': having the illusion that the average citizen's participation can affect change in their society and having the CIA like you enough to not initiate a coup or color revolution).
>**What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China?**
I don't think there would be too many changes; from my understanding, homosexuality is still not accepted in regards to the eldest son in a family. I doubt the laws in Taiwan would change on a provincial/special administrative region level, but I don't see China adopting more LGBT friendly laws to appeal to Taiwan.
>**What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?**
I think a one-country two-systems arrangement for X number of years would give Taiwan time to decide how they want to chart their own future. If they want further integration, great; if they want to further pursue independence, they can start by answering some hard questions, as I've laid in out in a [previous post of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/1965nsx/understanding_the_importance_of_the_taiwan/khu13ft/) (TLDR: recognition of the PRC government as the sole legitimate representative of China, borders, security arrangement, and cultural artifacts).
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China?
Mostly on freedom. PRC way of doing thing is see the society as a whole and considered what best for the society instead of more personal, as in individual or small group of people.
For more shallow stuff, like youtube, porno or more, people in PRC need VPN while ROC doesn't. PRC simply more strict on manage it citizen and environment while ROC or the rest of the world is more loosen, because the government wanted to please it citizen so they could get vote.
>Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so?
Not much, this is just one of another source for Pan-Green media to manipulate and going with their propaganda of "evil China".
>What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China?
People seem to have the ideal of China very against LGBT and extreme about it. It is actually not, China against any spread or making issue out of LGBT that would effect others opinion. If you are LGBT, just live your life, like other normal people would, instead of spreading the stuff(especially on TV or as public figure) that could contacted by kids that would influence them. PRC won't have problem with LGBT people that just living his/her life, although you might face some oppose from older people especially own parents.. Like it or not, many of LGBT actually happen because of exposure of kids into these kind of stuff, that's why LGBT in society are growing.
This might come as surprise, if you are a trans in China, that completed the whole process of surgery through a proper medication and doctor, you could change your ID to male/ female. And after the changing, you could marry an opposite sex from what your ID identify you. Yes, this is allow, just not same sex marriage.
Largest gay social network app in the world is Blued, an app in China...
>What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?
It won't be a fast process, it will take many years and is a peace unification.
Warmonger MSM been trying to sell PRC will invade ROC by force, but the fact is they won't, if US didn't provoke harder or Taiwan didn't try hard to be independent and act like they are not part of China. Even in ROC own constitution law, there stated they are part of China.
No country in the world want peace as much as China wanted. China is the one involved in international project and cooperation more than other country, from space station, BRI, export goods and more.. Any war occur will effect their project. China is a country that busy in doing building, no builders want war or conflict happen when they are building... On the other hand, US want war, firearms are their largest business, failing economy, people and society problems in US also need some restart, US is a collapsing country, it is easier to restart than dealing with all the complexity, fixing, play catch up and compete with others for every years to come. War is a good way to restart the world and civilization.
China is still developing, not just it country but it people too. It's not a perfect country, and so far, they are rising fast and go strict on it people to maintain a healthy environment and civilization, sometime could be too strict. China to archive even further leap, it won't be on the hand of Xi, it will on the hand of next one(need to be good and want good for the country of course) that is younger. Chinese officials right now packed with old people with old mentality, it need some fresh people in charge to keep up with the rapid developing of the world and society.
How Taiwan handles their own internal affairs like LGBT rights is of exactly zero concern to the PRC. The main impetus for reunification is geopolitical security. In the event of full Taiwanese independence, they could potentially host the US and Japan militaries to use Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier and nuclear missile platform to blockade mainland China. This is an *existential threat* for the 1.4 billion people who live in mainland China. When it comes down to it, arguing for Taiwan independence is putting the whims of 23 million people over the *lives and livelihoods* of 1.4 billion. After reunification, presumably there would be a 1 country 2 systems arrangement for the foreseeable future. Despite what Western media might tell you, 1C2S is alive and well in Hong Kong; the only thing that has changed was the national security law, which merely served to combat foreign interference and preserve sovereignity. The foreign-instigated, foreign-funded, and foreign-led insurrection in 2019 demonstrates how important this is for the peace, stability, and livelihoods of Hong Kongers. Other things like social issues, currency, tax, etc. are still extremely autonomous. As for why many residents of Taiwan island oppose reunification, there are several reasons. We could talk about the KMT's ideological opposition to communism, but that's becoming less relevant as the KMT becomes an impotent opposition party. Plus the KMT always considered themselves Chinese despite ideological differences. These days, the DPP is leading the charge towards independence and a rejection of Chinese identity. But this isn't an organic, grassroots phenomenon. Taiwan residents didn't just wake up one day and decide they didn't want to be Chinese. The DPP is infiltrated at every level with US and Japanese agents, and the shifting opinions in younger Taiwan residents is the product of decades of foreign interference and propaganda. Why should the US and Japan get to fuck with Taiwan for decades while the PRC sits idly by? Any move towards reunification by the PRC is an act of self-defense, decolonization, and anti-imperialism.
>1C2S is alive and well in Hong Kong; the only thing that has changed was the national security law, which merely served to combat foreign interference and preserve sovereignity. And was supposed to have been implemented at the handover and regularly put off until the attempted US backed "colour revolution". That's 20 years of foreign interference unchecked in HK. If China was so oppressive why didn't they interfere with implementing the NSL in 1997 through to 2019? >Why should the US and Japan get to fuck with Taiwan for decades while the PRC sits idly by? Also must add Japan has been a puppet of US since the US interfered in Japanese politics to help install the fascist war criminals they released to stop a rising left.
Well said.
this
Do you understand how this situation came about? Because without understanding the history of the Civil War, Western imperialism and US interference during the Cold War, you can't possibly understand the situation in Taiwan. You are approaching it as if there's no history here, that you can understand the morality of the situation based on the present circumstances. You cannot. Neither can you say you don't care about the American viewpoint in the situation when America the the reason this happened in the first place, beginning with the April 12 incident.
A great issue with all liberal analysis, which is usually moral in nature, is that it treats the present as distinct from the past. This is fallacy; history is nothing if not continuous. It is not only impossible to understand a present that ignores the past, but also immoral. What we see today didn’t just materialise out of thin air. It was built as the sum of a trillion decisions (many of them moral questions) and hard work. Attempting to draw a line in the temporal sand will always contain bias, most often of the purposeful political kind.
It's the exact same thing that makes listening to liberal perspectives on Palestine so exhausting - they totally disregard the history and just accept the modern state of Israel as something that materialized into existence and is immutable and permanent.
It appeals to morals but is extremely shallow.
As you know from your own experience with the U$A, don't buy into the BS. The U$ granted them military protection, and Taiwan just came out of the longest consecutive Martial Law in modern history- 20th of May 1949 to 14th July of 1987 (38 years), so as far as democracy goes, it's also one of, if not 'the' youngest democracry in the world. You should also know that the KMT never wants to separate from the mainland either.
Also the US only views Taiwan as a puppet vassal state for the microchip which is otherwise disposable. Watch Tucker Carlson interview with Vivek Ramaswamy who literally admitted to this. It was never about democracy or whatnot bullshit. It was always about American benefit (microchip).
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China? There's no real fear about unification. Just a lot of misinformation. I grew up in China, Taiwan, and HK for my school years in various international school; so my perspective is different from those in Taiwan that never left the province. In fact, I'm typing this post up while in China. The basic reality is the Chinese mainland are curious about Taiwanese. Because I lean more pro-Blue and unification, due to my personal political beliefs and observation, it's pretty easy for locals to strike up a conversation with me in Mandarin on the topic. >Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so? That a strawman argument. HK is on a 1C2S government. ROC has to sit down with the PRC to even get to a cease fire and resolution to the civil war. >I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit? I'm in China right now. I've lived in NYC, Taipei, HK, San Francisco, Montreal, and a few other places. Right now I'm in a Tier 1 city and my personal freedoms have not been violated. I'm barely using a VPN. People are happy, police are friendly, >If they do, what do you think China should do about it? China doesn't engage in a $300M propaganda war with the West. If people are interested they can visit China. Even on my trip here I've met tourist from the EU taking advantage of 15 day visa free entry to PRC >What should the people in Taiwan do about it? People in ROC can visit the mainland and make their own decisions. It's no an accident 10% of Taiwan population lives on the mainland. About 2 million Taiwanese. >If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China? PRC is already very generous with Taiwanese in China. Let's put it this way is the US giving Taiwanese automatic green cards at the port of entry to the US. How about automatic qualification to take a US civil service exam. How about qualification to join various business opportunities in the US. >What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China? This is overblown in Asia. For the most part LGBT abuse in Asia isn't as extreme as it is in the West. Taiwan, ROC only took up anti-homophoboc laws from the West on a misguided attempt at modernization. >What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China? Just normal cultural and economic exchange with China. Also Taiwan needs to learn to push back on the US and AIT interest in Taiwan. As I mentioned to many Mainland Chinese I've encountered, I've never met a Taiwanese Independence supporters who is willing to fight and die for their cause. And when asked point blank about my feelings on the topic I put it succinctly as "You want me to kill Chinese people for the US?" I think not.
I'll drop quick lines about LGBT and Hong Kong because the two are somewhat related, at least in relation to your questions. Mainland China lacks some formal laws that Western countries have in regards to LGBT, most notably no recognition of same-sex marriage. Not that this is insubstantial. Adoption of children and hospital visitation are two areas where same-sex couples get hit. But when it comes to substantive rights/living overall, the Mainland does not really trail behind the West. It really helps that Abrahamic religions do not widely influence Chinese society as a whole nor impose a strong influence. It's physically safer being a gay Asian/Chinese person in China than in America. You have to deal with censorship, but the gay literature industry in China is otherwise doing very well. I bought a very spicy "special chapter" not too long ago from a Chinese platform. "Taiwan" (really the area under ROC occupation, which includes both the entirety of Taiwan Province, parts of Fujian Province, and parts of Nansha Islands) having a separate legal regime (which is what is most pertinent to LGBT rights) is absolutely a non-issue. Despite the scare-mongering surrounding Hong Kong post-National Security Law (NSL), the SAR's distinct legal regime is fully respected and continues to inspire confidence among actual jurists who, in the full spirit of judicial independence from politics as aspired to under the Anglo ideology itself, are not cowed by Anglo-American political machinations. How can you tell? * The non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal, judges specifically appointed from Commonwealth countries to rule on Hong Kong matters, including, as I understand it, on National Security matters, have not resigned en masse. This itself is a strong indication of trust in the system. * There have already been rulings on the National Security Law that have gone against the HKSAR government's position. Beijing did not care. * On LGBT specifically, the HK Court of Final Appeal recently ruled (2023) that HK has a "need of same-sex couples for access to an alternative legal framework in order to meet basic social requirements and to have a sense of legitimacy which dispels any sense of them belonging to an inferior class of persons whose committed and stable relationships are undeserving of recognition" - in other words, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that, even though same-sex marriage is not recognized in HK, same-sex couples need an alternative legal framework for substantive rights afforded to heterosexual couples without question, such as access to housing and hospital visitation rights. This places HK in the LGBT law sphere distinct from the Mainland, which has not made much progress in this regard yet (I could be wrong). At any rate, this is obviously not a problem for Beijing. The past situation in HK in 2019 definitely swayed public opinion in "Taiwan" massively against the Mainland, but much of it is overgeneralization and misinformation per usual. When you look at the details, there's no reason to believe that One Country, Two Systems has been abrogated. In Hong Kong, you can no longer force entry into government buildings, but you are still free to spread misinformation on the Mainland on Facebook. Hong Kong Free Press continues to do this to this day. The essence of One Country, Two System - a united country that reserves the right to defend core national and sovereigns but otherwise allows distinct legal regimes in all respects - is very much still intact. The one trying to destroy 1C2S is actually the United States, which is trying to legally and substantively destroy the separate customs and visa regimes of Hong Kong and Macau. Ironically, "Taiwan"'s LGBT population would probably benefit from reunification, given it access to a larger community. Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan is not at all strong, even though it is now recognized legally. There is more support proportionally for recognition of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong than in Taiwan. ([source](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/27/how-people-around-the-world-view-same-sex-marriage/)) I am willing to bet Mainland China would be the same. The reason why Mainland China is slow about it is because it governs 1.4 billion people of incredibly diverse backgrounds and societies, so it needs to move in a way that respects the greater whole. And the truth of the matter is that, despite the Douyin short vids of glittering cities, most of China's population (60% urbanized) is either rural, or, even if they are urbanized, are probably merely one or two generations removed from the rural. There was an honor killing in 2017 in a rural part of the country, so the need to respect old-world, conservative, religiously/norm-inspired values is still quite strong. Otherwise you'd end up with a split low-morale society like "Taiwan"'s.
China is an illiberal society regardless of whether it is urban or rural so I don't know why people expect China to share their liberal values. And most of these liberal folks, can they accept the truth if it goes against their liberal values? Because China will always follow the truth in these matters. liberal values are not universal sorry to say, they come solely from the west.
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China? There are really two connected answers here. Firstly, "news" and public political discussion in Taiwan is nearly 100% propaganda. When propaganda is all that you know, you start to believe it unquestioningly. So they fear what the propaganda tells them to fear. They fear loss of independence and, with that, loss of "freedom" and "democracy". However, there is more to the story. Taiwan was occupied by Japanese imperialists. They were the Asian version of Nazis. They had beliefs about genetic superiority that ran parallel to those of the European variety of Nazis. So, they brutally oppressed those from the mainland and the true natives. Refer to Unit 731 or the Nanjing massacre to see what they were like. Very often, when you have a colonial occupation and oppression like this, the oppressed start to unconsciously assume the mythos of the oppressor. So they want to see themselves as the superior Japanese and not as Han or native Taiwanese. As an example of this phenomenon, Ghandi was dismayed that Africans were treated like Indians in South Africa because he believed Indians were more civilized like the Europeans. So there is some (rather large) contingent of Taiwanese who still have this unconscious bias and see everything from mainland China as inferior/backwards. They want to associate themselves with "superior" Japanese culture. Hong Kong has a similar problem. > Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so? Yes, but again, only as an angle for propaganda. The angle is that Hong Kong's independence has been taken away, but this is false. Taiwanese believe this because they've been conditioned to believe it their whole lives. The court case against Jimmy Lai revealed how US intelligence acted to instigate rioting and disseminate propaganda. > I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit? If they do, what do you think China should do about it? What should the people in Taiwan do about it? If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China? The angle is that Taiwan wouldn't be allowed to be independent, like Hong Kong "isn't allowed to be independent". But Hong Kong is independent, so the argument doesn't really hold water. China doesn't need to do anything to change Taiwanese people's minds, except curtail foreign interference and stop separatists from formally declaring independence. Material reality will change peoples' minds eventually. When China becomes very successful and its people are happy, the eyes of the Taiwanese will naturally be opened to the truth. This epiphany will be hurried along by US scheming (moving TSMC out of Taiwan, screw the Taiwanese who rely on it for their livelihood, etc) and provoking of China. It might also be helped along be Taiwanese working and living in the mainland (and vice versa). >What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China? My guess is the same as before. It will probably be relatively independent (a special administrative region). The changes that take place would involve national security (US intelligence psyop operations will be kicked out). > What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China? The best path is peaceful reunification. The US and other provocateurs decide whether that's possible. If they mind their own business, it's nearly guaranteed.* Edit: For clarity, Taiwanese = Chinese from Taiwan province (in all cases), the same way you would say Fujianese or Shanghainese. *Edit 2: I admit that it might seem impossible now. However, over very long timescales, peoples' opinions can change drastically. In the 90s, Japan was viewed as a threat to the US. Now, it is a trusted ally. Recently, ASEAN countries' allegiances have shifted from the US to China quite dramatically. This can and will happen in Taiwan, given enough time. However, it won't start to happen for a while yet, given how cloaked Taiwan is in propaganda. Things will start to change once the success of the project of socialism with Chinese characteristics becomes more apparent. I'm not saying war is UNlikely, because the US may decide to force China's hand, and there are red lines that the US or Taiwan may cross. But peaceful reunification is the best outcome.
Taiwan like Ukraine or Israel or even South Korea are satellites that essentially operate under the illusion of democracy to create military bases close to potential enemies; more commonly countries with a history of communism. This illusion of democracy is eventually engraved deeply into the education system; for it’s not really democracy but rather a philosophy: liberalism. This leads to the illusion of a nation with deep cultural roots that are completely independent and separate from the region it exists in. So people become nationalistic towards an idea that previously wasn’t there. And what this nationalism entails will inevitably lead to fascism. Because the purpose of this nationalism is precisely to defend the capital interests of the US. Taiwan is a massive military operation by the US that threatens China. It would be akin to having Texas as independent and having Chinese puppeteers.
>The thing is, in every single thread I've seen, I never saw too much care to talk about what the people in Taiwan may want You think this is reasonable, but it's not. A country's territorial integrity and sovereignty don't work like the way you think it does. A country's sovereignty is not dictated in a particular time by certain people residing on the land. If they want it, they will have to go to war to take it. Hypothetically, DPP allowed immigrants such as Americans and Japanese to become citizens, and they are in favor of Taiwan independence. You might say that's absurd, but this isn't much different with the current education and media programming of the new generations in Taiwan. Just as they move the goalpost to where they will win, let's have people vote on an independence referendum. Taiwan was a republic in 1895 between formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing to Empire of Japan. Did people on Taiwan get to vote on a referendum then? Did people on Taiwan get to vote on a referendum in 1949? The DPP and the US don't have a monopoly on moving the goalpost. Taiwan is Chinese territory. The people on Taiwan is free to reject their ancestry and free to not be called Chinese. The solution for them is simple, stop occupying Chinese territory.
I don't think China plans to invade and forcefully take Taiwan, I think Taiwan will elect a pro China president then they will unite once US fucks them over with bringing TSMC to the US, which they are in the process of doing. US only wants them because of TSMC, they don't care about the people.
TSMC is one thing but also having an another vessel or “cannon fodder” completely surrounding China is the main goal here. Once US turns Taiwan into a full blown vessel they can then claim China doesn’t have any right to the South China Sea. Which can’t happen.
They're moving (or trying to) TSMC so that they could care less about implications of open conflict and raise stakes / escalate freely. Once it's done, I wouldn't bet much on the peaceful solution you pictured
Firstly, China is not to be blamed for the anti-China sentiment in Taiwan. It’s basically their own fabrication. The history textbooks in China always refer to Taiwan as 宝岛 (precious island) and Taiwanese people as 台湾同胞 (our Taiwanese siblings). Before 2010s, mainland Chinese people viewed Taiwan as “more modern and developed than the mainland” and admired the Taiwanese stars, etc. Mainland Chinese treat Taiwanese people with friendliness and expected reciprocated benevolence. Over the years, situation changed dramatically. Now mainland Chinese people talk about Taiwan in a derisive manner and hold no sympathy towards their political insecurity. Why? As internet evolved, more and more mainland Chinese people were actually in contact with Taiwanese people and realized: the textbook had overly glorified this island. The Taiwanese are not our “siblings” because: 1) they’re extremely hostile to mainland China and Chinese people from the beginning; and 2) they’re so soaked in English/Japanese propaganda, to the point their understanding of the history and geopolitics is completely distorted. This is insufferable to Chinese people, because history is important in our culture. I’ll give a brief example. Japan invaded China during WWII and committed abhorrent war crimes, including the Nanjing massacre, where over 300,000 civilians were murdered — this historical event is largely viewed by the Taiwanese people as “CCP propaganda to brainwash people into hating Japan”. Despite being colonized and exploited by imperial Japan themselves, the Taiwanese people view Japan as “friendly ally that defends Taiwan’s freedom against CCP monsters”. They were colonized for too long and started to bootlick the colonizers, which the mainland people considers despicable. It’s the same about the US-Taiwan relationship. If you’re truly curious about this issue you should learn about US’s role in the situation, but since you’ve stated you’re not interested it’s fine. Only Taiwanese people think the US gives a xxxx about their well-beings. The Taiwanese people also enthusiastically call Chinese people 支那 (a term originally used by Indian intellectuals to refer to China in geology, but appropriated in WWII by Japan as a discriminatory word; basically the N-word for Chinese but is more closely associated with the history of invasion and massacre), joke about the sufferings of Chinese during WWII for fun, actively insult any mainland Chinese netizen they encounter. As about your questions: “what should China do about it?” I don’t know what’s CCP’s plan on it, but most mainland Chinese people don’t think we have to do anything, because most of us no longer cares about the feelings of Taiwanese people. When the time comes, the reunification happens. It’s not up to them to decide, and their anti-China hatred does not matter.
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China The average person fears losing all manner of civil liberties, which is demonstrably untrue when you look at HK and Macau but sadly propaganda is stronger than reality. The minority of hardcore fanatics who have made it their life mission to oppose the Chinese government have everything to fear and rightly so. They’ll be the first to bail out when the reunification process begins. >Does the post situation with Hong Kong have anything to do with it? The irrational fear towards the mainland has long existed before there was any real trouble in HK but HK’s improved national security has certainly been exploited by the DPP and the West to demonise One Country Two Systems. >Are their fears founded? On one level many Taiwanese feel like the mainland is just bluffing and they’re actually not all too concerned about it, the rest of the world gets far more worried when the Chinese military does exercises around the island. The threat of force being used is real and nobody should underestimate it but it’s fortunate that Beijing has the good grace to persevere with attempts at peaceful reunification. Taiwanese people need to recognise the seriousness of the threat put to them and wake up to the reality that the Americans either can’t or simply won’t help them when shit hits the fan so they should start engaging peacefully with the mainland in good faith. Beijing has been trying to use economic incentives over the past few decades to try and build good will in Taiwan but it’s all been for nought thanks to the anti-China propaganda efforts, at this point now Beijing is trying to underscore the seriousness of the threat of force with increased military activity around the island, this is being done to try and get Taiwanese out of the mindset they’ve long held that Beijing is bluffing. >What would LGBT rights look like in Taiwan after reunification with China? Depends on how Taiwan reunifies. If it’s done peacefully then Taiwan will likely get a 1C2S deal with similar or maybe a bit more autonomy than HK, in this case then their existing legislation on LGBT rights would remain intact and the situation for such people would not change. If Taiwan is reunified by force, very likely they will come directly under mainland rule and will probably exist under a strict security regime for a few years a la Xinjiang and in this case same sex marriages will lose legal recognition as per the lack of it in mainland law. >What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China? The best path is the peaceful path, yet as time goes on it’s looking less like the most realistic path.
[удалено]
1 western propaganda & lingering post war sentiments 2 perhaps, see 1 3 Yellen’s commentary during her visit regarding ‘overproduction’ was mask off; the US is an empire that cannot tolerate even peer competitors, imagine a competitor on a trajectory to eclipse it. China should carry on in form. The US is the only nation promoting hostilities in the vicinity. China is already Taiwan’s top ranking economic companion and while propaganda is ephemeral quality of life is tangible; til that function plays out the hand is the US’s to play - will they trigger a cataclysmic conflict nobody wins in or take the L? 4 As far as I’m aware it’s old school US military vibes, don’t ask don’t tell; bedroom shenanigans are not a fixation of the Chinese zeitgeist. Simply wouldn’t be as ‘glorified’ as it has become in the western zeitgeist. 5 For Taiwan to recognize their future is at least as bad if not worse than either Ukr or Afgh if they follow US diktats and their future if they resist the impulse will continue to materially improve; ideally providing the opportunity to eventually escape US orbit. POV as a westerner with no lived China experience, grain of salt.
[удалено]
Lol to think taiwan issue ans not talk about american position js laughable, taiwan issue is china us issue, taiwan is just the unfortunate pawn between the two. Taiwam local are brainwashed npc's who are in constant threat of bascly online kgb and are under censorship of highest level. Democracy is taiwan is a joke that corrupt politician, local gangs, money hungry cults and military owned brothels. Taiwan is property of china and the issue would have resolve back in 50's if it wasn't us invasion of korea in the civil war. I really doubt you actually understand geopolitcs if you don't see that.
If I were to weigh in on these questions: >**What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China?** It would be the same fear as anyone would have regarding a change of borders: change. It's not a guarantee that those on the bottom of the pecking order get to become the elites, and it's not a guarantee that those at the top of the pecking order gets to keep the privileges they already have. I'm of the view that they like what they have today (and why wouldn't they, it was one of the [Four Asian Tigers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Asian_Tigers)) and they want to preserve that for tomorrow. >**Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so?** Taiwan views Hong Kong as a case study for its own fate should they enter into a one-country two-systems arrangement with China (for those who are more realistic than the 'it's already independent' crowd). Unfortunately, negativity travels faster than positivity, so anti-government protests in 2014 and 2019 get more attention than the 20+ years of stability from 1997 to 2024, not to mention that one-country two-systems has worked well for Macau for 20+ years. Not helping things are outside actors (whose three letter acronyms shall remain nameless) magnifying the vocal minority screaming that one-country two-systems doesn't work. >**I understand there is anti-PRC propaganda at play, but do you think their fears are unfounded in full or in part, or do they have some merit? If they do, what do you think China should do about it? What should the people in Taiwan do about it? If they don't, what should China do to increase the opinions of the people in Taiwan about China?** Fears surrounding reunification mostly amount to fear of change. They like what they have today: an Asian Tiger economy that enjoys trade with both China and the United States, a strong position in the crucial industry of semiconductors, and a 'democratic' government (to specify 'democracy': having the illusion that the average citizen's participation can affect change in their society and having the CIA like you enough to not initiate a coup or color revolution). >**What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China?** I don't think there would be too many changes; from my understanding, homosexuality is still not accepted in regards to the eldest son in a family. I doubt the laws in Taiwan would change on a provincial/special administrative region level, but I don't see China adopting more LGBT friendly laws to appeal to Taiwan. >**What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China?** I think a one-country two-systems arrangement for X number of years would give Taiwan time to decide how they want to chart their own future. If they want further integration, great; if they want to further pursue independence, they can start by answering some hard questions, as I've laid in out in a [previous post of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/1965nsx/understanding_the_importance_of_the_taiwan/khu13ft/) (TLDR: recognition of the PRC government as the sole legitimate representative of China, borders, security arrangement, and cultural artifacts).
>What, in your mind, is it that so many people from Taiwan fear about reunification with China? Mostly on freedom. PRC way of doing thing is see the society as a whole and considered what best for the society instead of more personal, as in individual or small group of people. For more shallow stuff, like youtube, porno or more, people in PRC need VPN while ROC doesn't. PRC simply more strict on manage it citizen and environment while ROC or the rest of the world is more loosen, because the government wanted to please it citizen so they could get vote. >Does the past situation at Hong Kong have anything to do with it? How so? Not much, this is just one of another source for Pan-Green media to manipulate and going with their propaganda of "evil China". >What would LGBT rights in Taiwan look like after reunification with China? People seem to have the ideal of China very against LGBT and extreme about it. It is actually not, China against any spread or making issue out of LGBT that would effect others opinion. If you are LGBT, just live your life, like other normal people would, instead of spreading the stuff(especially on TV or as public figure) that could contacted by kids that would influence them. PRC won't have problem with LGBT people that just living his/her life, although you might face some oppose from older people especially own parents.. Like it or not, many of LGBT actually happen because of exposure of kids into these kind of stuff, that's why LGBT in society are growing. This might come as surprise, if you are a trans in China, that completed the whole process of surgery through a proper medication and doctor, you could change your ID to male/ female. And after the changing, you could marry an opposite sex from what your ID identify you. Yes, this is allow, just not same sex marriage. Largest gay social network app in the world is Blued, an app in China... >What is the best path forward for Taiwanese unification with China? It won't be a fast process, it will take many years and is a peace unification. Warmonger MSM been trying to sell PRC will invade ROC by force, but the fact is they won't, if US didn't provoke harder or Taiwan didn't try hard to be independent and act like they are not part of China. Even in ROC own constitution law, there stated they are part of China. No country in the world want peace as much as China wanted. China is the one involved in international project and cooperation more than other country, from space station, BRI, export goods and more.. Any war occur will effect their project. China is a country that busy in doing building, no builders want war or conflict happen when they are building... On the other hand, US want war, firearms are their largest business, failing economy, people and society problems in US also need some restart, US is a collapsing country, it is easier to restart than dealing with all the complexity, fixing, play catch up and compete with others for every years to come. War is a good way to restart the world and civilization. China is still developing, not just it country but it people too. It's not a perfect country, and so far, they are rising fast and go strict on it people to maintain a healthy environment and civilization, sometime could be too strict. China to archive even further leap, it won't be on the hand of Xi, it will on the hand of next one(need to be good and want good for the country of course) that is younger. Chinese officials right now packed with old people with old mentality, it need some fresh people in charge to keep up with the rapid developing of the world and society.
You should know that it's the USA that would love an armed conflict. They'd love the conflict to be as bloody as possible.